newman



(No Model.)

G1.' R. NEWMAN.

REED ORGAN. N o..264,09'7. Patented Sept. 12, 1882.

UNITED STATES PATENT OEETCE.

GUSTAV l. NEVMAN, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO JOHN A. NEWMAN AND CHARLES YV. NEWMAN, OF SAME PLACE.

REED-ORGAN.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 264,097, dated September 12, 1882,

Application iled July 10, 1882.

(Xo model.)

Toall whom it may concern.:

Be it known that I, GUs'rAv R. NEWMAN, citizen ot' the United States,residing at Chicago, in the county of Cool: and State ot' Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Impwements in Reed-Organs; and I doliereby declare thet'ollowing to be a i'ull,clear, and exact description, snilicient to enable others skilled in the art to which said invention appertains io to practice the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, wherein- Figure l shows in perspective the improvement as applied tothe ordinary type ot' twoset7 parlor-organ, and Fig. 2 shows in transverse section said improvement or addition and its relation to the other parts ofthe organ with which it cooperates.

My invention relates to reedorgans, melodeons, or like musical instruments, and has for its object to so far modify or soften the tone emitted by the vibrating tongue of an organ-reed as that said tone shall in characteristie quality or timbre77 more nearly approximate to and rcsemblerthe like tone ot' a pipe- 2- organ.

He'retot'ore the manufacturer of the reed-organ wherein the reeds were provided with vibrating tongues of metal has experienced much diiiiculty in reducing the harsh metallic sound inherent in the material of which said tongues are composed, and to overcome this in a measure has been compelled to spend much time and care in bending and scraping the tongues of the reeds, so that the sound emitted shall be less i-ank.

By the present invention, whether the twang7 of the reed-tones has been diminished by scraping and bending of the tongues or not, it is possible to impart a purity to the tone which shall make it resemble that ot' the pipe-organ and to be in closer imitation thereot' thanv can be attained without the use ofthe improvement.

To this end the invention consists of certain improvements in the structure ot' a reed-organ or like instrument, all as hereinafter fully described, and distinctly defined by claims.

Upon the mortise-board c of the usual windchest, A, rests the tube-board B, in the cells of which are inserted the series of reeds b, the

vents or passages between the wind-chest A and each ot' the reed-cells being controlled by the valve c", stem a2, and key A', in manner well understood. Extending across the face or entrance ot' the reed-cell,and along the en- 55 tire series of cells, is the mute or stop valve C, hinged by leather strip or otherwise at its upper edge to the tube-board B, and bearing at its lower edge against a strip ot' felt or the like, c, in front ot' the reed-cells, which said 6o strip is attached to the board a.. The mutevalvc C is held tightly to its seat, and with its edge against the strip c, by the usual torsionspring, and in such position eft'ectually eX- cludes the air-currents from the reed-cells, whether the tingerkeys A be operated to depress the valves a' or not, whence it follows. that the set ot' reeds emits no sounds under such condition, or, in other words, remains mute. It', however, the valve C be elevated 7o from its seat, by working the necessary stopdraw, and through it the crank-wire d and lever-arm d', which latter is attached to said valve C, then the reed-cells are ol` open or i'ree vent throughout the scale of the instrument, and any note maybe sounded, as desired. The construction thus far described is that which is found in the ordinary twoset instrument, and is detailed to more clearly show the rela tion of the improvement or addition now to be 8o set forth with respect to the mute-valve C.

Directly in front of the valvestrip-c there is preferably hinged to the board a what for distinction may be termed the pipe-valve77 D, which said valve is entirely detached from the mutevalve C, and consists ot' a narrow strip ot' woodorthelike extendingparallelto andoisubstantially the same length with theinute-valve C across the series ot reed-cells. A lever, e, pivoted at eto the end ot' the tube-board B,is 9o operated by stop-draw E and crank-wire E', of usual construction, and in its vibration about pivot eaets through arms c2 and the lever-arms e3, the latter being attached tothe pipe-valves4 D, to lift. said valves against the force ot' tor- 95 sion-springf, so that thet'ace thereoi'shallstan'd in close juxtaposition to the edge ot" mutevalve C when the said mute-valve is raised from its seat in position for the several reeds to be sounded. The best et't'ects are obtained 10o when the lifted edge of mute-valve C rests snuglyagainst the upturnedface of pipe-valve D, for in such relation ot' the parts there is no vent for the air-currents save at the extreme ends of the two valves, and a close chamber is thus established, which in some Way operates to modify the quality of the tone emitted by the vibrating tongue of the reed, and to impress it with characteristics in close imitation of the tone of a pipe-organ. Approximately good results, however, may be obtained even though the edge of mute-valve C be not in contact with the upturned .face ot' valve D; but

-ot course, in so far as there be space or vent allowed between them, the air waves or currents are not confined in passage to the ends of the closed chamber, and become less and less modied in timbre, according as the upturned face of valve D is removed farther and farther away from contact with the edge of valve C.

Instead of hinging valve D to the board a, as shown, it may be attached to some other convenient portion of the organ structure, and, indeed, instead ot' being' hinged at all, it may be fixed rigidly in place, so that mute-valve C shall come in close proximity thereto when raised from off the series of reed-cells. In such event the instrument would have a permanent pipe-like tone to all of its reeds, but would not be so loud-sounding as when the valve D is hinged and capable of being closed down out ot' the way to operate the swell-valve, or even when operating with no more than the mute-Valve C open. It will be understood that the addition of the pipevalve D does not in the least interfere With the use ot' the various other modifying-stops as now found in the better class of reed-organs, and hence is not confined in value to any particular organ structure. While such of these as produce the tremolo77 or vox-celeste7 effects operate to change the pitch, so that oftentimes the front and back sets ot' reeds, or, in other words, the upper and lowerregister of the instrument, are several semi-tones at variance, there is no difference in pitch to be noted when the present invention is employed. The change is one in quality alone, imparting a clearness and purity to the tone which bring it into close resemblance with that ot' the usual pipe-organ.

The invention may be readily adapted to any instrument like the parlor-organ, wherein a series of vibrating reeds have a mute-valve to open and close upon the reed-cells.

Having thus described the invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

l. The combination, with the reed-cellsf'of 6o a mute-valve and a detached strip, said valve and strip being arranged and adapted to operate in proximity to each other, substantially as described.

2. The combination, with the tube-board B, having the reed-cells therein, of the mute-valve C and the pipe-valve D, detached therefrom and hinged substantially as described.

In testimony whereof witness my hand this 6th day of July, A. D. 1882.

GUSTAV R. NEWMAN.

Witnesses:

J oHN A. NEWMAN, J AMES H.A PEIRCE. 

